I went to the doctor’s appointment yesterday, and got me post-op evaluation, and consultation. I was told that of the parathyroid glands, two were slightly enlarged, and he removed those, and that my interoperative calcium level dropped to something in the low 9 range. I’d be tested that day, and again in three months. I asked what happens if the calcium levels do not continue downward, and he started to answer, then abruptly said, well, at that point we would go in a different direction. It hardly takes any work at all to see that other causes could be at play, such as kidney, lung, or pituitary cancers. I had the blood test done yesterday and the result was 10.6 in a range that tops out at 10.8, so “mildly elevated.”
My goal is to live my best life now. No matter what the longer prognosis is, I need to live as well as possible, just because, for example, today is my last Thursday, October 8th, 2026. I won’t get another one. And one never knows when it is their last October 8th, or their last Thursday, anyway,
No, I don’t trust this. I just don’t. I want to. I want to so badly. I want this to be a moment of permanent improvement on my way to my 103rd birthday. I feel good. My bone pain is gone today. I feel good all over, apart from a sense of doom, and concern that my calcium levels should be lower, rather than higher a few days after surgery. 10% of patients will have a bump, so I need to see how this goes. But my logical mind does not accept that things are just great yet.
Alright, so after the doctor’s appointment and a nap, and some really good time just hanging about with my wife, and helping her with some things where I can, I got down into the cellar and finally got a firsthand look at the place. It was not as bad as I expected it to be. It is a real Hellhole, but I honestly expected it to be in worse shape than it was. I changed a lightbulb down there and then got to work on the clogged pipe from the kitchen drain.
There is a rubber boot connecting a plastic drainpipe to a metal one, and at that point, it is a change in size. It also is a slight low point, as a proper continuous drop is not possible there. I took the hose clamps off both ends and fairly easily slide it down the metal, smaller pipe. Right away I could see the whole pipe was blocked there with hard grease and such. The kitchen sink is two basins that were half full of water, and nothing was coming at first. I hit it with the end of the snake, which pushed into and through the clog, then pulled it out with when I pulled it back, and it and all that water came pouring out rapidly. Did not smell great, and I got hit with a bit before I was fully out of the way. Then I went in the other direction, as that one was obviously cleaned out now. The smaller pipe took a little more work as I pushed the snake end all the way into it and to the point where it reaches the main pipe that goes then into the septic system. Pulled it out and some little bit of debris and put the pipes back together. Missus then poured some boiling water down the drain to wash it fully clear.
Next steps include actually doing what I have a monthly alarm set for, which is to pour boiling water down the drain in a large quantity, and push any built up grease along and into the septic system. In a perfect world, there would be no grease, but come on. We cook. No matter how hard I have tried, some has gone down. So that chore is mandatory. I believe the grease goes down loose, but hardens in the pipe as it cools, and tends to stick to the top and build up, till eventually a bit of food comes down the pipe at the bottom and catches under that build up and clogs the pipe abruptly.
I honestly think I can smell that dirty kitchen sink water, even though I have showered and done all my laundry. It is that bad of a smell. Maybe I don’t smell it, and maybe my calcium levels are not something I should be worrying about!
I will be in work today after I drop the girls off for their school bus. Let’s see how this goes!